Xylem reaps rewards of acquisitions

Water technology company Xylem Inc has reaped the benefits of its Sensus acquisition over a year ago, to record fourth-quarter 2017 revenues of US$1.3 billion (€1.04 billion) – up 17% year-on-year.

The company said that the fourth quarter of 2016 only saw two months of Sensus accounts added to its total revenues, hence the sharp rise a year later. Sensus is a smart meters, network technologies and advanced data specialist, which Xylem acquired for US$1.7 billion (€1.5 billion) in late-2016.

For the full year, Xylem’s revenues grew 4% compared to 2016, to US$4.7 billion (€3.76 billion).

Adjusted net income also grew year-on-year for Xylem in the fourth quarter – some 15% – to US$137 million (€110 million). For the full year, Xylem’s adjusted net income was US$433 million (€347 million) – a rise of 18% compared to 2016.

Patrick Decker, president and CEO of Xylem, said, “Our teams delivered a strong performance throughout 2017 and I’m very pleased with our full-year results. Our relentless focus on the customer and continuing to enhance our execution in the field translated into improved results in revenue, orders and backlog growth, with the momentum we built in the second half of the year carrying into 2018.

“We capitalised on improving end-market conditions, particularly in public utilities where we continue to gain share. Our productivity for growth initiatives continue to generate significant savings and fund critical R&D investments for our long-term growth.”

Xylem also confirmed the completion of its previously-announced acquisition of Pure Technologies, said to be a leader in smart infrastructure assessment and management.

Decker added, “Pure’s solutions are highly complementary to the broader Xylem portfolio. This business brings a unique set of proprietary technologies as well as data analytics expertise that further augment our ability to identify and address some of our customers’ most urgent needs.”

Xylem said it expected full-year 2018 revenues in the range of US$5.1 to US$5.2 billion (€4.1 to €4.16 billion). This would represent an increase of between eight and 10%, which will include the growth of acquisitions made, such as Pure Technologies.